Heartland POD

Flyover Friday, December 1, 2023Intro: On this episode of The Heartland POD for Friday, December 1st, 2023A flyover from this weeks top heartland stories including:Welcome to The Heartland POD for a Flyover Friday, this is Sean Diller in Denver, Colorado. With me as co-host today is Adam Sommer, how you doing Adam?We're glad to have you with us. If you're new to our shows make sure you subscribe and leave a 5 star rating wherever you listen. You can also find Heartland POD content on Youtube and on social media with @ THE heartland pod, and learn more at thehearltandcollective.com Alright! Let's get into the storieshttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/28/new-article-greg-abbott-school-vouchers-hugh-shine-endorse/Gov. Greg Abbott is starting to make good on his threat to politically target fellow Republicans who oppose school vouchers, issuing his first endorsement of a primary challenger to a House member who has helped thwart his top legislative priority of the year.Abbott on Tuesday backed Hillary Hickland, an activist mother who is running against Rep. Hugh Shine, R-Temple. Shine was one of 21 Republicans who voted earlier this month to strip a voucher provision out of an education bill, delivering the most decisive blow yet to the governor's agenda.https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/16/texas-house-school-vouchers/​The Texas House on Friday voted to strip school vouchers from the chamber's massive education funding bill, taking an ax to Gov. Greg Abbott's top legislative priority of the year.The House voted 84-63 in favor of an amendment offered by Rep. John Raney, R-College Station, which removed the provision of the bill allowing some parents to use tax dollars to send their children to private and religious schools. Twenty-one Republicans, most of whom represent rural districts, joined all Democrats in support.https://missouriindependent.com/2023/11/29/missouri-attorney-general-opposes-proposed-federal-rule-supporting-lgbtq-foster-kids/“Because of family rejection and abuse,” the Biden administration said in a September press release, LGBTQ children are “overrepresented in foster care where they face poor outcomes, including mistreatment and discrimination because of who they are.”Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey this week joined with 18 other states to oppose a proposed federal rule that aims to protect LGBTQ youth in foster care and provide them with necessary services.The attorneys general argue in a letter to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services that the proposed rule — which requires states to provide safe and appropriate placements with providers who are appropriately trained about the child's sexual orientation or gender identity  — amounts to religion-based discrimination and violates freedom of speech.“As a foster parent myself,” Bailey said in a news release Tuesday, “I am deeply invested in protecting children and putting their best interests first.”https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/30/senate-clarence-thomas-harlan-crow-john-cornyn-ted-cruz/WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz were among several Republicans who bolted from a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting Thursday to protest subpoenaing Dallas-based conservative donor Harlan Crow.The committee's Democrats are seeking records over payments, gifts and travel Crow reportedly provided Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, some of which were not initially listed on financial disclosures. The committee's GOP members cast the subpoena authorization as a partisan attack against one of the most conservative members of the court and a private citizen."This is an outrageous attempt to target private citizens without any legitimate legislative purpose," Cornyn told reporters after the meeting. "If you can go after a private citizen … for a non-legislative prupose, you essentially can target for political reasons any American citizen at any time in the future. And that is a dangerous, dangerous place to go."https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-scotus-undisclosed-luxury-travel-gifts-crowIN LATE JUNE 2019, right after the U.S. Supreme Court released its final opinion of the term, Justice Clarence Thomas boarded a large private jet headed to Indonesia. He and his wife were going on vacation: nine days of island-hopping in a volcanic archipelago on a superyacht staffed by a coterie of attendants and a private chef.If Thomas had chartered the plane and the 162-foot yacht himself, the total cost of the trip could have exceeded $500,000. Fortunately for him, that wasn't necessary: He was on vacation with real estate magnate and Republican megadonor Harlan Crow, who owned the jet — and the yacht, too.For more than two decades, Thomas has accepted luxury trips virtually every year from the Dallas businessman without disclosing them, documents and interviews show. A public servant who has a salary of $285,000, he has vacationed on Crow's superyacht around the globe. He flies on Crow's Bombardier Global 5000 jet. He has gone with Crow to the Bohemian Grove, the exclusive California all-male retreat, and to Crow's sprawling ranch in East Texas. And Thomas typically spends about a week every summer at Crow's private resort in the Adirondacks.The extent and frequency of Crow's apparent gifts to Thomas have no known precedent in the modern history of the U.S. Supreme Court.These trips appeared nowhere on Thomas' financial disclosures. His failure to report the flights appears to violate a law passed after Watergate that requires justices, judges, members of Congress and federal officials to disclose most gifts, two ethics law experts said. He also should have disclosed his trips on the yacht, these experts said.Thomas did not respond to a detailed list of questions.https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/11/30/over-342000-ohioans-have-lost-their-medicaid-coverage-since-april/Ohioans may be contacted up to eight times — through the mail, text messages and phone calls — before being unenrolled from Medicaid, Lawless said.But if someone has moved, changed their number or doesn't have internet access they might not have been notified about potentially losing their coverage.“If they can't get a hold of you after a few times you can just get kicked off,” Poe said. “People are just getting kicked off of their health care coverage, because Medicaid can't find them. And that feels really rather unacceptable to me.”More than 3 million Ohioans are enrolled in Medicaid and the Medicaid renewal process starts 60 days before their annual renewal date. Ohioans receive a final notice of disenrollment before losing their coverage, Lawless said. Ohioans can renew their Medicaid coverage by returning a completed renewal packet to their county Jobs and Families Services office, by calling 1-844-640-6466 or online through the Ohio Benefits eligibility portal. Follow OCJ Reporter Megan Henry on Twitter.https://www.warrencountyrecord.com/stories/giving-parents-options-is-the-free-market-approach-to-education,90867For many of our friends and neighbors, public schools are the right place for their children to be educated. In our small towns, the public school is the center of the community. Unfortunately, a one-size-fits-all approach to education doesn't work well for the entire state or for every child.In Missouri, we should provide options for school choice so families choose an education that fits their children's needs. I believe so strongly in our public schools and their ability to serve students, that I know providing some families a choice will not hurt our public education system. Legislators, like me, can be pro-education and pro-education options. School choice provides families with the flexibility to choose the best educational environment for their children. This could mean traditional public schools, charter schools, private schools, virtual schools, and homeschooling. The key is putting the power back into the hands of parents, allowing them to make decisions based on what they believe is best for their children.I believe that we can, and should, agree that one-size-fits-all does not fit all when it comes to education. Each child is unique, with different learning styles, interests, and needs. School choice recognizes this and acknowledges that parents are in the best position to understand their child's individual requirements. By allowing parents to choose the educational setting that aligns with their child's needs, we can foster a community where every student can thrive.Critics likely will argue that education freedom might divert resources away from public schools, but the reality is quite the opposite. When parents have the option to choose, schools are incentivized to improve and innovate to attract students. Moreover, school choice promotes economic empowerment by allowing parents to invest in their children's education. Education is an investment in the future, and when parents can direct their education dollars to the school of their choice, they are more engaged and invested in their child's success. This active involvement creates a positive ripple effect, strengthening the entire community.In some of Missouri's urban areas, the ultimate outcome of our public school system is prison or death. Many kids graduate without being able to read or write.Here in Rural Missouri, we pride ourselves on our strong sense of community, and school choice aligns with our values of individual freedom and personal responsibility. Giving parents the freedom to make decisions that impact their children's education falls in-line with that personal responsibility. The fears of schools using school choice as a tool for recruiting for athletics fails to account for the above mentioned sense of community. This is why I believe that school choice programs that have seen success in Missouri's urban areas should be expanded. The Missouri Scholars Program was started last year and allows for qualifying families based on need to receive a scholarship for $6,375 to use towards the educational needs of their children, like tuition. The reality is that many members of our community don't qualify for this program or wouldn't use it because they are satisfied with their public education. However, for the few that need a different option for their children, this scholarship is essential to provide another option. Unfortunately, right now only residents of St. Louis City, St. Louis County, St. Charles County, Jefferson County, Clay County, Jackson County, Cape Girardeau, Columbia, Springfield, Jefferson City, St. Joseph, and Joplin. There's no reason why our area of the state shouldn't also be included in that list.As your representative, I am committed to supporting policies that prioritize the well-being and success of our community. I am committed to making the public schools in our area the very best that they can be. To me, this is not a partisan issue. It's about putting our children first and ensuring they have access to the best possible education. I urge you to consider the benefits of school choice.Well that's it for me. From Denver I'm Sean Diller. Stories featured in today's show appeared first in the Missouri Independent, Ohio Capital Journal, Texas Tribune, Pro Publica, and the Warren County Record in the blessed land of Warrenton, MO.

@TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85  (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp   (Post) Sean Diller @SeanDillerCO   (Twitter and Post)https://heartlandpod.com/JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Belin found her love of politics growing up with parents and siblings who discussed current events at the dinner table. She has followed Iowa elections closely since the 1980 caucuses, when she took on the role of liberal Republican candidate John Anderson for a classroom debate. She first participated in an Iowa Democratic caucus as a Paul Simon supporter in 1988.She found her love of writing about politics as an analyst for the Prague-based Open Media Research Institute and later for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. She covered Russian campaigns and elections, parliamentary politics, and media issues full time from 1995 to 1998 and on a freelance basis for RFE/RL from 1999 to 2005, spanning most of Boris Yeltsin's presidency and the early Vladimir Putin years.As Bleeding Heartland's lead author, Belin continued to use the handle desmoinesdem through 2018 and now writes about Iowa politics under her own byline.

Glenn Kage, Jr. is joined by former tobacco farmer and now Cannabis farmer, Robert Huffman to talk about the work of organizing the Colorado cannabis farmers for labor rights.  Learn more about Glen with laborfront.com and find Glenn as "Labor Front" on social media. @TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and Threadshttps://heartlandpod.com/JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Music: Elliot Rosen

@TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85  (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp   (Post) Sean Diller @SeanDillerCO   (Twitter and Post)https://heartlandpod.com/JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/T/F: Missouri GOP went too far with their push to limit ballot initiatives on abortionJay Aschroft loses, again (lost count here) https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-supreme-court-wont-hear-jay-ascrofts-appeal-of-abortion-ballot-summaries/Yeah No…Wisconsin's gerrymandering problemhttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/20/deliberate-and-anti-democratic-wisconsin-grapples-with-partisan-gerrymandering?CMP=Share_iOSApp_OtherThe primary pay to playFrom Article: A Michigan businessman called Democratic Senate candidate Hill Harper to offer $20 million in campaign contributions if he agreed to drop out and instead mount a primary challenge to Rep. Rashida Tlaib, according to a source with direct knowledge of the call.https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/22/donor-20-million-tlaib-primary-00128443Makes you sadly wonder about Bell in the MO1st against BushYeah Yeah…Boebert has an uphill battle and is hopefully toast in ColoradoCO house Dist 3 against Adam Frisch, Frisch ran in 2022 and lost a nail biter we've talked about it before, but with ballot initiatives could be a much different 2024 in Coloradohttps://www.meidastouch.com/news/co-ballot-initiatives-spell-doom-for-boebertAnother Jan 6th defendant guilty and Judge ROASTS defensehttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/22/taylor-james-johnatakis-guilty-jan-6-rioter?CMP=Share_iOSApp_OtherBuy/SellNew lawyer group fighting Trump lies for 2024https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/21/anti-trump-conservative-lawyers?CMP=Share_iOSApp_OtherBig OneRed State Brain Drain Is Real &  A Real Problemhttps://newrepublic.com/article/176854/republican-red-states-brain-drain

On this episode of The Heartland POD, for Monday, November 20, 2023RIP Mrs. CarterMissouri AG takes down complaint but backs MuskThe Speaker of the House wants a theocracyJoe Manchin Might Leave The Democratic Party, what a shockerThe proliferation of the small sample content pollColorado's big Trump rulingDiscussion about the disappearance of local media, and how our new project might help fill that exact voidLots to Do, so let's go!Welcome to The Heartland POD where we are working together to change the conversation in politics. Host intros “how you doin and whatchu sippin on”Adam  - Rachel  - SeanSupport what we do by leaving a five star rating and a review wherever you listen to the show and follow us on social media with AT the heartland pod and, maybe tell a friend. Tell a family member, maybe this year for Thanksgiving you're thankful for The Heartland POD and our family of shows?  SHOW NOTES START@TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85  (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp   (Post) Sean Diller @SeanDillerCO   (Twitter and Post)https://heartlandpod.com/JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/RIP Former First Lady (of the NATION) Rosalynn Carterhttps://www.cartercenter.org/news/pr/2023/statement-rosalynn-carter-111923.htmlMissouri pit stop: Appointed AG Bailey took down a corruption complaint https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article281907488.html?ac_cid=DM875098&ac_bid=256147713True Or False: Americans will swallow theocratic government, as long as it comes with lower gas prices Mike Johnson Advocates For Theocracy… Speaker Mike Johnson says separation of church and state is a 'misnomer'Bonus T/F: Joe Manching leaving the Democratic party is meaninglesshttps://thehill.com/homenews/4312340-manchin-considering-leaving-democratic-party/#:~:text=Sen.%20Joe%20Manchin%20(D%2DW.,seek%20reelection%20to%20the%20Senate.YDFS: Mike Flynn kept money from donations to his legal defense fundhttps://www.semafor.com/article/11/13/2023/michael-flynn-and-family-pocketed-leftover-money-from-legal-defense-fund-filing-claimsBuy of Sell - Polling firms are going to have a banner year despite the narrative that polling doesn't matter Overreaction 2024 Poll Of The Week: This week, polling is GOOD for Biden!https://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1769&context=survey_center_pollsBIG ONEColorado Ruling: Trump Engaged In Insurrectionhttps://www.cnn.com/2023/11/17/politics/trump-colorado-ballot-14th-amendment-insurrection/index.htmlRuling itself: ​​https://www.scribd.com/document/685299158/11-17-2023-Final-OrderBREAKSPECIAL EXTRA TIME Local News Papers Are Dying Faster Than Expected - Welcome To The Heartland Collectivehttps://www.axios.com/2023/11/16/newspapers-decline-hedge-funds-research

Title: Flyover Friday, November 10, 2023Intro: On this episode of The Heartland POD for Friday, November 17, 2023A flyover from this weeks top heartland stories including:GOP Senators can't stop Biden's student loan plansIllinois legislature approves plan for Small Nuclear ReactorsOhio Republicans can't take a hintOhio Secretary of State misses personal financial disclosure deadlineBiden Administration expands veterans' health careDemocrat Dan Kildee of Michigan is retiringWelcome to The Heartland POD for a Flyover Friday, this is Sean Diller in Denver, Colorado.We're glad to have you with us. If you're new to our shows make sure you subscribe and leave a 5 star rating wherever you listen. You can also find Heartland POD content on Youtube and on Twitter @ THE heartland pod. Alright! Let's get into the storieshttps://missouriindependent.com/briefs/attempt-to-kill-biden-student-debt-relief-plan-tied-to-income-fails-in-u-s-senate/Senate Republicans fail to kill President Joe Biden's income-based student debt relief planBY: ARIANA FIGUEROA - NOVEMBER 16, 2023 7:10 AM     WASHINGTON — Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia was the sole Democrat who joined Republicans in backing the resolution, which was 2 votes short of passing.Following the vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said “There are millions of students, poor, working class … who will benefit from what the president has done. Republicans don't think twice about giving huge tax breaks to ultra-wealthy billionaires and large corporations, but when it comes to helping out working families with student debt relief, suddenly it's too much money, it will raise the deficit, we can't afford it. Give me a break.”The Department of Education unveiled the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan hours after the Supreme Court in June struck down the Biden administration's one-time student debt cancellation that would have forgiven up to $10,000 in federal student loan debt for anyone making less than $125,000 per year.Borrowers who received Pell Grants would have been eligible for an additional $10,000 in forgiveness of federal student loans.The new income-driven repayment plan calculates payments based on a borrower's income and family size and forgives balances after a set number of years. More than 5.5 million student loan borrowers have already enrolled in the SAVE plan, according to data released by the Department of Education.Repayments on federal student loans restarted last month after a nearly three-year pause due to the coronavirus pandemic.With the SAVE plan, borrowers with undergraduate loans will pay 5% of their discretionary income, rather than the 10% required under previous income repayment plans. https://capitolnewsillinois.com/NEWS/illinois-lawmakers-approve-plan-to-allow-small-scale-nuclear-developmentIllinois lawmakers approve small-scale nuclear developmentThursday, November 9, 2023Governor, who vetoed previous bill, supports new effortBy ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinoisaadams@capitolnewsillinois.comSPRINGFIELD – Lawmakers on Thursday approved a proposal that would allow companies to develop new nuclear power generation in Illinois for the first time since 1987. House Bill 2473 does not entirely lift the 36-year-old moratorium on nuclear construction, but rather creates a regulatory structure for the construction of small modular nuclear reactors, or SMRs. The bill limits the nameplate capacity of such reactors to 300 megawatts, about one-third the size of the smallest of the six existing nuclear power plants in Illinois. It also requires the state to perform a study that will inform rules for regulating SMRs, which will be adopted by regulators at the Illinois Emergency Management Agency by January 2026.  Proponents of the measure say it is a step to make the ongoing transition away from fossil fuels more reliable for customers throughout the state, while opponents warn the unproven technology comes with safety risks and the potential for cost overruns. The bill passed with bipartisan support in the Senate, 44-7, and the House, 98-8. The opposition came exclusively from Democrats. Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement that he would sign the bill. He worked with lawmakers on the new bill after vetoing a broader measure this summer. Leadership of the Illinois AFL-CIO umbrella labor organization released a statement Thursday calling the policy “important for our state's economy and our clean energy future.” It echoed a release from the Illinois Manufacturers Association, an industry advocacy group that testified in support of the proposal several times, saying that it would allow the state to “continue leading in energy and manufacturing innovation.”The legislation's sponsors, Republican State Sen. Sue Rezin, and Democratic State Rep. Lance Yednock said the bill has the potential to bolster Illinois' electric reliability as intermittent sources like wind and solar begin to make up a larger portion of the state's energy output. Sen. Rezin said she is particularly interested in the potential for SMRs to be developed at the sites of former coal plants in Illinois, avoiding the need to build new transmission lines. Because permitting nuclear energy takes many years at the federal level, the earliest a nuclear project could be brought online in Illinois would be in the 2030s.  But critics of the bill and of nuclear power are worried.David Kraft, an outspoken critic of nuclear energy and head of the Chicago-based advocacy group Nuclear Energy Information Service, urged lawmakers at a Thursday committee meeting to reject the bill. Kraft said he was concerned about the lack of existing SMR installations and the unproven nature of the technology. While some nuclear reactors of this scale do exist in other countries, no commercial SMRs have ever been built in the United States. In a follow-up interview, Kraft said that SMRs bring with them security concerns, as the smaller installations have different staffing requirements than traditional reactors and use a more highly enriched type of uranium. This relative abundance of this uranium, according to Kraft, could incentivize the further proliferation of nuclear weapons. Sierra Club Illinois chapter director Jack Darin called nuclear energy “at best, a distraction.” Sierra Club was one of the main advocacy organizations that sought Pritzker's veto of the previous bill. Since 2016, five other state legislatures have either repealed or weakened their bans on nuclear construction. Counting Illinois, bans on nuclear construction remain on the books in 11 states. Several of the states that have lifted their bans in recent years have done so to pave the way for SMR technology. But the biggest player in that industry has seen several upsets in recent weeks. As lawmakers debated the bill on Wednesday, NuScale Power – the only company with a federally approved SMR design – announced that it was canceling its highly watched “Carbon Free Power Project” in Utah, which would have been the first commercial project with a NuScale reactor. The project's cancelation comes after months of falling stock prices and criticism from trading firms. Still, its leaders say the company will continue with its other projects, which are at various steps of regulation and planning. Bill sponsor Sen. Rezin noted that “there's a lot to learn” from NuScale's canceled project, but hopes Illinois' and other states' moves to reverse their construction bans will encourage nuclear energy development in the U.S. She said “If we do not build out this technology with companies that are in the United States, there's other companies and countries such as Russia that are looking to sell that technology. We don't want that.” Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of print and broadcast outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/11/16/ohio-senate-gop-floats-idea-of-15-week-abortion-ban-despite-voters-saying-no/Ohio Senate GOP floats 15-week abortion ban despite voters saying noBY: MORGAN TRAU - NOVEMBER 16, 2023 5:00 AMThe Ohio Senate president has floated the idea of a 15-week abortion ban following voters decisively choosing to keep lawmakers out of their reproductive care.The debate over Issue 1 continues at the Statehouse. Some fringe and alt-right Republican House representatives are infuriated with the voters who stood up to secure abortion rights in the state.Issue 1, the proposal to enshrine abortion access into the state constitution, passed 57-43% on election night. Despite this large victory, Statehouse Republicans have been mulling over ways to combat it.State Rep. Jennifer Gross (R-West Chester) is seemingly leading this fight with other far-right representatives Bill Dean (R-Xenia), Melanie Miller (R-Ashland) and Beth Lear (R-Galena). The quartet is described by other Ohio Republicans as being on the extreme end of their caucus due to anti-vaccine beliefs, peddling of conspiracy theories, and attacks on the LGBTQ+ community.Describing a potential 15-week abortion ban, GOP Senate President Matt Huffman said “clearly there is a majority of people in Ohio” who want the ban - however, that would of course be the opposite of what the voters just said a week ago. ere are no statistics to prove this, and based on the language of Issue 1, the voters chose not to have any restrictions before viability.Statehouse reporter Morgan Trau asked President Huffman “Would 15 weeks be going against the will of the people?” He said he didn't know.After the election where Ohioans stood up to demand abortion rights, the Senate President said this “wasn't the end” and there would be a “revolving door” of repeal efforts.  This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/11/16/sec-frank-larose-misses-deadline-for-u-s-senate-financial-disclosures/Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose misses extended reporting deadline in U.S. Senate race. He's the only one who didn't file. BY: NICK EVANS - NOVEMBER 16, 2023 4:55 AM     The three Republican candidates hoping to topple U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-OH, go before voters in a few months, and by now should've disclosed information about their personal finances. Two of them, state Sen. Matt Dolan and entrepreneur Bernie Moreno, have done so. But after filing an extension through Nov. 14, though, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose still has not.In both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, candidates and members have to regularly file disclosures that describe their financial positions, assets and liabilities. But the reports stick to broad strokes. Filers name their mutual funds, for instance, but the amount of their holdings are bracketed — $1,001-$15,000, $15,001-$50,000, etc.Current U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown reported about $27,000 in retirement income from his time as a state official. His U.S. Senate income doesn't need to be disclosed, nor do his U.S. Senate retirement accounts.Brown also reports serving as a trustee at Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. since 2008.Under U.S. Senate rules, candidates must file financial disclosure reports within 30 days of becoming a candidate. LaRose announced his candidacy July 17, and filed for a financial disclosure extension August 9. That extension gave him until November 14 to file his report.Despite that 90-day reprieve, LaRose still has yet to file. The Ohio Capital Journal reached out to his campaign to see if the report has been filed but not yet posted or if the campaign has requested a further extension. The campaign did not respond.Late filing carries a $200 penalty and failing to file or filing a false report carries a civil penalty of up to $50,000.LaRose's failure to file thus far is particularly notable given a $250,000 personal loan he made to his campaign in September. While his Republican opponents have loaned their campaigns significantly more money, LaRose's previous disclosures from his time as a state lawmaker don't suggest he'd have that much cash readily available.Chagrin Falls Republican Matt Dolan comes from a wealthy family that owns the Cleveland Guardians baseball team. In addition to serving in the legislature, Dolan has worked in the Geauga County prosecutor's office and as an Assistant Attorney General.The state senator's investment holdings are vast—including stocks from more than 250 companies, more than 50 mutual funds and bonds. He reports a Morgan Stanley money market account with more than $1 million alone as well as several mutual funds worth more than half a million dollars each.Dolan also reports a handful of retirement accounts, partial ownership of several LLCs and real estate. One residential building brought in more than $50,000 in rent.In addition to his income Dolan holds personal line of credit with Morgan Stanley worth at least $5 million. The interest rate for that credit line is just 5.96% according to Dolan's amended report — roughly 2.5 percentage points below the current prime rate.Dolan has loaned his campaign a total of $7 million.Next, there's Bernie MorenoIf anything, Moreno's disclosure is even more complex. The Westlake entrepreneur began his business career selling cars, and his report describes his role as director of 17 different automotive business entities, most of which are no longer operating. But from cars, Moreno has branched into several other lines of business including real estate and tech.Moreno's assets are held in a series of trusts, and the report includes several notes about partial ownership and recent sales. He owns 65% of Dryver, LLC, for instance, which the report values at between $5 million and $25 million. Moreno recently sold off his stake in a different company called Champ Titles, and reports making more than $5 million on the deal.He has investments worth at least half a million dollars in handful of Tel Aviv companies working technology, social media investing and healthcare AI. Moreno has also invested in Narya, the venture capital firm U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-OH, started before running for office. Vance has endorsed Moreno's senate bid.Moreno also reports owning millions in residential and commercial real estate. He owns 43% of a home in Ocean Reef, FL worth at least $5 million. It appears the property is a rental because it generated more than $50,000 in income. Moreno also owns a 1% stake condos located in Washington, D.C., and New York City, as well as a $1 million unimproved parcel in Zapotal, Costa Rica, and at least $1.5MM sitting in two checking accounts.Moreno has loaned his campaign $3 million.https://kansasreflector.com/briefs/veterans-health-care-coverage-expanded-by-biden-administration/Biden Administratoin expands Veterans' health care coverage BY: JACOB FISCHLER - NOVEMBER 10, 2023 4:01 AM     Officials said the Department of Veterans Affairs will expand health care coverage for certain groups of veterans and their families, and create new programs meant to make care more accessible.The VA will make coverage of certain toxic burn pit-related conditions available sooner than anticipated. Family members of veterans who served at North Carolina's Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune from between 1953 and 1987 will be eligible to have the costs of treating Parkinson's disease covered. And all living World War II veterans will be eligible for no-cost health care, including at nursing homes, the department said in a series of news releases.The administration will also create a new graduate medical education program to help expand health care availability for veterans in rural, tribal and other underserved communities. And the VA will spend $5 million on an advertising campaign aimed at having more veterans sign up for services.https://michiganadvance.com/2023/11/16/dan-kildee-dean-of-michigans-u-s-house-delegation-wont-run-for-reelection-in-2024/Dan Kildee, dean of Michigan's U.S. House delegation, won't run for reelection in 2024Retirement leaves open a key seat made more competitive with redistrictingBY: KEN COLEMAN - NOVEMBER 16, 2023 1:53 PM     Kildee, who is 65, said a cancer diagnosis this year caused him to reassess his career plans. Kildee's retirement from the 8th Congressional District including Genesee, Bay and Saginaw counties and portions of Midland County, leaves open a seat made more competitive during the last redistricting process. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report with Amy Walter has moved the seat from “leans Democratic” to a “tossup.”A number of candidates could line up to run in 2024 from both parties. Republican Martin Blank, a surgeon, has already declared. Other Republicans who could run are last year's nominee Paul Junge, former House Speaker Tom Leonard and state Rep. Bill G. Schuette (R-Midland).On the Democratic side, potential candidates could include former Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich (D-Flint), Flint Mayor Sheldon Neely, state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Bay City), former state Rep. Pam Farris (D-Clio) and state Sen. John Cherry (D-Flint).In a 2020 interview with the Michigan Advance, Kildee recalled having only been in Congress for a few years when news of the Flint water crisis broke.“That was one of those moments where I knew why I was there. I knew exactly why I was in Congress. I had to go to bat for my hometown because they only had one member of Congress, and I had to persuade a whole bunch of people to help me out with Flint.”Kildee has served as a leader in the House Democratic caucus and has been a close ally of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). He is the co-chair of the House Democratic Steering Committee. Pelosi told the Advance in 2020 that Kildee “has proudly carried on his family's long legacy of service, becoming a tremendous champion for the people of Flint and all Michiganders” as part of leadership.“As a powerful member of the Ways and Means Committee, his persistent, dissatisfied leadership has delivered critical resources to strengthen and develop his community and ensure that our budget remains a reflection of our nation's values. Congressman Kildee's bold vision and expert guidance as chief deputy whip has been invaluable to House Democrats as we work to advance progress that make a difference in the lives of hard-working families in Michigan and across the country.”Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said through a statement that “no one fights harder for his constituents than Dan Kildee.“Congressman Kildee knows the Bay region like the back of his Michigan mitten, and I am so grateful for our productive partnership,” Whitmer said. “I am grateful for our collaboration to bring progress to areas of Michigan that too many left behind. We brought good-paying, middle-class manufacturing jobs back to Flint, worked to lower the cost of prescription drugs with President Biden, and delivered on the issues that make a real difference in people's lives.”   U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) called Kildee's retirement “a huge loss for Congress, for Michigan, and for me personally. The center of his work is and always has been his hometown of Flint, for which he has fiercely advocated especially in the darkest hour of the Flint water crisis,” Slotkin said. “While I'm thankful I have another year to work with him, and thrilled that he is moving on to his next chapter, this departure stings.”U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor) said that Kildee “will be missed. His deep knowledge of many issues and his concern for others has made a difference in countless lives, and his years of service have benefited our country in many ways,”Advance Editor Susan J. Demas contributed to this story.We will definitely have more on the developing primary picture for this open seat in Michigan, as well as the new open seat in Virginia as Abby Spanberger runs for Governor, and everything else that happens as we are now just a couple of short months from the 2024 primary season.Well that's it for me. From Denver I'm Sean Diller. Stories featured in today's show appeared first in the Kansas Reflector, Michigan Advance, Ohio Capitol Journal, Missouri Independent and Capital News Illinois. Thanks for listening, see you next time. 

HostAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85  (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)GuestJeff Basinger  on Twitter - https://twitter.com/wolfraiseshumanJeff's Substack - https://doctorfantastic.substack.com/?utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=pssUpchurch Case: https://law.justia.com/cases/missouri/supreme-court/1991/73376-0.htmlhttps://heartlandpod.com/JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/

Jen Tracy is a progressive candidate for Missouri's 120th district.  I'll post her links here. https://www.upballot.com/jen-tracyhttps://www.tiktok.com/@jentracy4mohttps://www.instagram.com/therealjentracy/https://secure.actblue.com/donate/jen4mo120thGlenn Kage, Jr.  - https://www.laborfront.com/Follow Glenn as "Labor Front" on social media. @TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and Threadshttps://heartlandpod.com/JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”

Co-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85  (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp   (Post) Sean Diller @SeanDillerCO   (Twitter and Post)https://heartlandpod.com/JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/SHOW NOTES BEGINSpecial Guest - CW Gardner to talk about his new children's book about becoming a manly manT/F - Andy Brashear's Win In KY Is An Example, Not An Anomalyhttps://www.thenation.com/article/politics/andy-beshear-win-abortion-kentucky/Missouri Poll shows Quade isn't just competitive  - there is a real avenue to victory here in MO for her Primary will be a major waste with silver spoon business man Mike Hamarsbi https://www.showmevictories.com/news/one-year-out-missouri-voters-share-their-opinions-ahead-of-2024-election-cycle/KY rural voters: https://dailyyonder.com/rural-voters-shift-toward-democrat-in-kentucky-governors-race/2023/11/09/Big One - 2024, A Year Out - What A Difference A Week Makes, Now Imagine A Year… Nov 5, NY Times puts out their big bombshell poll and starts the coverage cyclehttps://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/05/us/politics/biden-trump-2024-poll.htmlCNN Now has a similar poll and coverage cycle goingThen - David Axelrod, Main Architect of the Obama campaigns - posts his thoughts about swapping Biden out as the Democratic nomineehttps://x.com/davidaxelrod/status/1721187586268389858?s=20 Meanwhile - we had the odd year election which means the bi-annual “Virginia Is A  Bellwether” analysis started Virginia bellwether good quote from Virginia State Senator and coolewst grandma on the planet, L. Louise Lucas https://twitter.com/senlouiselucas/status/1721604287531250113?s=46&t=mukZUfs5M_R3E9tAHIu-GA THEN - two days later, Democrats swept both chambers in Virginia, KY reelected a Democrat that we just discussed, and Ohio voters roundly rejected GOP extremism with the passage of Issue 1 by 13 points to legalize abortion in their state constitutioNOW - Huge push coming, including by Axelrod - to talk about project 2025 and the massive risk a Trump presidency part 2 would pose to both the future of American democracy and to human rightshttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/nov/09/trump-president-democracy-threat-media-journalism?CMP=Share_iOSApp_OtherBackdrop - More and more prominent GOP members are running from TrumpIowa governor backing DeSantis - https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4296720-iowa-governor-officially-endorses-desantis-at-des-moines-rally/Sen. Joe Manchin is retiring from his seat and largely expected to run with the No Labels groupJill Stein is back too https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4302594-jill-stein-2024-bid-green-party/Think piece about Obama/Biden splits and how that's showing back up now https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4304498-axelrod-criticism-obama-biden-tensions/All of that leads to What can be a good discussion because this is one of those times where our goals are all aligned, we want not Trump to be elected  President in 2024 - but we have some starkly different reactions to Axelrod's comments

Marion Co Kansas newspaper raid | Hospitals are suing patients and putting liens on their homes to get paid | Missouri Sunshine Laws are alive and well | Joe Manchin retiring from the U.S. Senate probably to run for President alongside RFK Jr., Jill Stein, and Cornel West in 2024's JV electionWelcome to The Heartland POD for a Flyover Friday, this is Sean Diller and with me today are my cohosts Rachel Parker and Adam SommerWe're glad to have you with us and if you're new to our shows make sure you subscribe, and leave a 5 star rating wherever you're listening to our shows, remember to look for The Heartland POD content on youtube and learn more about our shows and hosts at heartlandpod.comLet's get into the stories2023 Election Results That Caught Your Eye?Ohio Issue 1 on abortion  Massive win for abortion rights  - 56-43, 13 point margin is pretty massive especially in this age of often close partisan election resultsKansas 2022 measure was 59-41, also was a larger election but still, bigger marginCounty map breakdown on votehttps://www.wlwt.com/article/ohio-issue-1-abortion-rights-passes-county-map/45772375GOP still promising to ignore voters and do what they think is best, because they don't care what people thinkinghttps://www.salon.com/2023/11/08/this-isnt-the-end-top-ohio-vows-effort-to-undo-abortion-amendment-backed-by/Virginia house and senate flipped to Dems after Youngkin's double down on abortionYoungkin pushed for voters to give him a GOP majority in both chambers so they could make abortion super illegal, and voters said, “That's gonna be a no from me, dawg”Sound bite from the ghost of Josh Hawley's future  https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1722092355770016036?s=46&t=mukZUfs5M_R3E9tAHIu-GAKentucky reelected a Democrat for Governor - Andy BeshearMoms for Liberty candidates LOST in almost every race they were inhttps://www.kcrg.com/2023/11/09/moms-liberty-backed-school-board-candidates-overwhelmingly-lose-elections/Summary of results on Ballotpediahttps://ballotpedia.org/Election_results,_2023The folks behind the Marion Co. newspaper raid that left an elderly woman and former publisher dead were more involved than they ever let on and it looks like what we thought it was all alonghttps://missouriindependent.com/2023/11/06/kansas-officials-downplayed-involvement-in-marion-raid-heres-what-they-knew/Chaos in Missouri's Medicaid Programhttps://missouriindependent.com/2023/11/02/medicaid-unwinding-breeds-chaos-in-states-as-millions-lose-coverage/Callers in Missouri reported waiting on hold for more than two hours on hotlines to renew their Medicaid coveragePeople in North Carolina are losing their homes to hospital billshttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/06/hospitals-lawsuits-atrium-north-carolina?CMP=Share_iOSApp_OtherNotes (just for reference):In 2005, to secure a debt of $23,311 from Sandra's treatment, a lawyer for the hospital convinced the couple to sign a deed of trust to their home. It required Atrium's debt and attorneys' fees to be paid before the home could be sold, transferred or refinanced.In 2010, Belk was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Suddenly, he owed another $6,792, which he could not pay. In 2012, the hospital sued to collect its money and succeeded. Another lien was placed on the family home, with an 8% annual interest rate and more attorneys' fees on top. Worse, Sandra's cancer returned.In 2013, Sandra died at 61. That did not stop the hospital from refiling the debt lien from her initial treatment, when it would have otherwise expired in 2022. That has allowed the hospital to retain a stake in Belk's home to this day.Rebecca Varney, a good trouble maker in Missouri's Phelps County, and a Missouri court agrees - and awards almost $44,000 in attorney fees as a reulthttps://missouriindependent.com/2023/11/08/phelps-county-judge-rules-missouri-city-tried-to-intimidate-woman-with-ban-on-city-hall-visits/Edgar Springs, a town of 200 in southern Phelps County, must pay a nominal fine of $150 to Rebecca Varney for banning her from city hall for four years, and for holding several closed meetings with business that should have been conducted in public, Judge John Beger decided.  The cost of the violations will be far more than that, however, because Beger also ordered the city to pay $43,995 in attorneys fees, plus additional costs that have not yet been calculated to bring the case to trial. 

@TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsRachel Parker @msraitchetp   (Post) https://heartlandpod.com/JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”

@TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85  (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp   (Post) Sean Diller @SeanDillerCO   (Twitter and Post)https://heartlandpod.com/JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/T/F - Josh Hawley Only Introduced This Bill - to allegedly undue the Citizens United Ruling -  So He Could Say He Introduced This Bill Because Lucas Kunce Has Him ScaredSean - can you do a quick refresher of what Citizens United is for the class, please - 2010 case about corporate donations and classification as money as speech, allowed for a flood money, largely without accountability, or what' often called “dark money” Open Secrets Spending Summaries: https://www.opensecrets.org/elections-overview/cost-of-election?cycle=2020&display=T&infl=NBrennan Center Summary for Background reading: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/citizens-united-explained https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/josh-hawley-citizens-united-bill-rcna123031538 polling info: Hawley in leadhttps://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/senate/2024/missouri/Mitch came right at Hawley's throat: https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/31/politics/mitch-mcconnell-josh-hawley-citizens-united/index.html Yeah… no -  Christian Nationalism Is a Serious ProblemFrom a group called “Right Wing Watch”Former Trump administration and ardent Christian nationalist William Wolfe warns that "we are getting close" to a point where Christians will have to "heed the call to arms."https://twitter.com/rightwingwatch/status/1719444222028198007?s=46&t=mukZUfs5M_R3E9tAHIu-GAMike Johnson - it's a whole thingYou don't fuckin' sayDaddy's best boy isn't up for the job it seems https://www.ky3.com/2023/11/01/gop-candidate-missouri-governor-implies-hed-have-quit-if-voters-pass-abortion-rights/Best line, Ashcroft actually said this: “We're getting into real hypotheticals,” Ashcroft saidI'd pat him on his widdle squishy head if I didn't want to punt him off a bridge so badly.Yeah… Yeah - Trump orbit legal issues are going well for the good guyshttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/31/top-trump-allies-facing-charges-lose-lawyers-after-failing-to-pay-legal-bills?CMP=Share_iOSApp_OtherIvanka wanted to not have to testify during the week becauseLike, judge, we have kids and it's just so hard and I just can't evenhttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/03/ivanka-trump-must-testify-trump-organization-fraud?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other Buy or Sell - Voters accepting GOP candidates claiming victory for Biden policy? Republicans welcome local benefits of climate law despite voting against itNancy Mace and Marjorie Taylor Greene among those accused of hypocrisy over efforts to gut landmark Inflation Reduction Act https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/01/republicans-climate-change-ira-nancy-mace-marjorie-taylor-greene?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other Big One - Social Emotional Learning Is What Businesses Want, But What GOP AttacksTop workforce concern of Missouri's CEOs is finding ‘soft skills'Two-thirds of respondents believe high school grads aren't ‘well-prepared for success'So often hear from GOP “Kids need to learn math and how to read” but the reality is that it doesn't matter how fast you can do arithmetic if you can't deal with other humans https://www.ky3.com/2023/10/27/top-workforce-concern-missouris-ceos-is-finding-soft-skills/

Welcome to the Friday News Flyover for November 3, 2023. I'm Sean Diller. This week: Medicaid chaos in red states around the country | Cannabis legalization on the ballot in Ohio | Pennsylvania Democrats have returned triple the mail ballots compared with their Republican neighbors | Colorado voters consider two statewide ballot initiatives, and | It's Britneyhttps://missouriindependent.com/2023/11/02/medicaid-unwinding-breeds-chaos-in-states-as-millions-lose-coverage/Medicaid ‘unwinding' breeds chaos in states as millions lose coverageBY: PHIL GALEWITZ, KATHERYN HOUGHTON, BRETT KELMAN AND SAMANTHA LISS - NOVEMBER 2, 2023 11:34 AM     More than two dozen people lined up outside a state public assistance office in Montana before it opened to ensure they didn't get cut off from Medicaid.Callers in Missouri and Florida reported waiting on hold for more than two hours on hotlines to renew their Medicaid coverage.The parents of a disabled man in Tennessee who had been on Medicaid for three decades fought with the state this summer to keep him enrolled as he lay dying from pneumonia in a hospital.Since the expiration of COVID-era protections earlier this year, states have reviewed the eligibility of more than 28 million people and terminated coverage for over 10 million of them. Millions more are expected to lose Medicaid in the coming months.The Medicaid disenrollment rates of people reviewed so far vary dramatically by state, largely along a blue-red political divide, from a low of 10% in Illinois to a high of 65% in Texas.“I feel like Illinois is doing everything in their power to ensure that as few people lose coverage as possible,” said Paula Campbell of the Illinois Primary Health Care Association, which represents dozens of community health centers.Camille Richoux, health policy director for the nonprofit Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families said, “It's not just bad, but worse than people can imagine. This has not been about determining who is eligible using all possible means, but how we can kick people off by all possible means.”The unprecedented enrollment drop comes after federal protections ended this spring that had prohibited states from removing people from Medicaid during the three pandemic years. Since March 2020, enrollment in Medicaid and the related Children's Health Insurance Program had surged by more than 22 million to reach 94 million people in the U.S.The process of reviewing recipients' eligibility has been anything but smooth for many Medicaid enrollees, and some suspect particular states have used the confusing system to discourage enrollment.But gaps in coverage can jeopardize people's access to health services - or their financial security - if they get medical bills for care they cannot postpone.Pam Shaw, a pediatrician in Kansas City, Kansas, who chairs the American Academy of Pediatrics' state government affairs committee said, “Any type of care that's put off — whether it's asthma, whether it's autism, whether it's something as simple as an earache — can just get worse if you wait,”Doctors and representatives of community health centers around the country said they have seen an uptick in cancellations and no-shows among patients without coverage — including children. Nationwide, states have already disenrolled at least 1.8 million children in the 20 states that provide the data by age. Children typically qualify more easily than adults, so child advocates believe many kids are being wrongly terminated based on their parents' being deemed no longer eligible. In Texas, 68% of those disenrolled from Medicaid were children, compared with 16% in Massachusetts, according to KFF. In September, President Joe Biden's administration said most states were conducting eligibility checks incorrectly and inappropriately disenrolling eligible children or household members. The administration  ordered states to reinstate coverage for some 500,000 people.Idaho, one of a few states that completed the unwind in six months, said it disenrolled 121,000 people of the 153,000 recipients it reviewed as of September because it suspected they were no longer eligible. Of those kicked off, about 13,600 signed up for private coverage on the state's ACA marketplace, according to Pat Kelly, executive director of Your Health Idaho, the state's exchange. What happened to the rest, state officials say they don't know.Nationwide, about 71% of Medicaid enrollees terminated during the unwinding have been cut because of procedural issues - meaning they could actually still qualify for Medicaid, but lost it anyway. ‘People are not getting through'In many states, enrollees have faced long waits to get help with renewals. The worst phone waits were in Missouri, according to a KFF Health News review of letters the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services sent to states in August. In the letter to Missouri's Medicaid program, CMS said it was concerned that the average wait time of 48 minutes and the 44% rate of Missourians abandoning those calls in May was “impeding equitable access” to assistance and patients' ability to maintain coverage.Some people are waiting on hold more than three hours, said Sunni Johnson, an enrollment worker at Affinia Healthcare, which runs community health centers in the St. Louis area. That's a significant hurdle for people with inflexible jobs and other barriers.In Florida, which has removed over 730,000 people from the program since April, enrollees earlier this year were waiting almost 2½ hours on a Spanish-language call center, according to a report from UnidosUS, a civil rights advocacy group. The Spanish versions of the Medicaid application, renewal website, and other communications are also confusing, said Jared Nordlund, the Florida director for UnidosUS.Some Medicaid recipients are seeking help through the courts. In a 2020 class-action lawsuit against Tennessee that seeks to pause the Medicaid eligibility review, parents of recipients describe spending hours on the phone or online with the state Medicaid program, trying to ensure their children's insurance coverage is not lost.One of those parents, Donna Guyton, said in a court filing that Tennessee's Medicaid program, called TennCare, sent a June letter revoking the coverage of her 37-year-old son, Patrick, who had been eligible for Medicaid because of disabilities since he was 6. As Guyton made calls and filed appeals to protect her son's insurance, he was hospitalized with pneumonia, then spent weeks there before dying in late July.“While Patrick was fighting for his life, TennCare was threatening to take away his health insurance coverage and the services he relied on,” she said in a court filing. “Though we should have been able to focus on Patrick's care, our family was required to navigate a system that kept denying his eligibility and putting his health coverage at risk.”TennCare said in a court filing Patrick Guyton's Medicaid coverage was never actually revoked — the termination letter was sent to his family because of an “error.”Phil Galewitz in Washington, D.C., wrote this article. Daniel Chang in Hollywood, Florida; Katheryn Houghton in Missoula, Montana; Brett Kelman in Nashville, Tennessee; Samantha Liss and Bram Sable-Smith in St. Louis; and Bernard J. Wolfson in Los Angeles contributed to this report.KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/11/01/marijuana-legalization-would-add-260m-to-ohio-economy-study-predicts/Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em. Or when you get ‘em anyway.Issue 2, an initiative that would legalize recreational marijuana for people over 21 in Ohio, is on the ballot in next Tuesday's election. An economic analysis released last week found that the benefits of legalizing cannabis in Ohio would outweigh the costs by a quarter-billion dollars a year.A study by Columbus-based Scioto Analysis attempts to identify the pluses and minuses that would come with legalization.To do the analysis, the group used studies from states such as Washington and Colorado, where recreational weed has long been the law. To examine how the pros and cons identified in those states might play out in Ohio, the researchers looked at economic and census data, as well as crime statistics.with its 10% excise tax on top of Ohio's normal sales tax, passage of Issue 2 would produce $190 million a year, according to the report.  Then there are the jobs the new industry would create.The report predicts that Ohio will add roughly 3,300 new jobs in the first year after legalization. Assuming these jobs are full time and pay matches the average wage across the state of Ohio, this will amount to about $190 million in wage benefits for workers across the state. And if weed is no longer illegal for adults over 21, it stands to reason that there will be fewer arrests.The report said using data from the FBI's Uniform Crime Report on the number of cannabis-related arrests in Ohio, they estimate there would be about 4,400 fewer arrests per year if recreational cannabis were legalized. Adding up the cost of those arrests, and assuming that 6% of those people would have been convicted of felonies, this amounts to over $38 million in savings for Ohio.”Overall, study estimated Ohioans would receive $260 million in annual benefits if Issue 2 passes this coming Tuesday. https://www.penncapital-star.com/blog/mail-in-ballot-returns-top-half-a-million-2023-election-mailbag/Dems far outpacing Republicans in mail and absentee ballots returnedMail-in ballot returns top half a million | 2023 Election MailbagBY: CASSIE MILLER - NOVEMBER 1, 2023 2:00 PM     Here are the numbers: As of Nov. 1, Pennsylvania voters requested a total of 1,026,227 absentee and mail-in ballots.Of that number, 90% requested a mail-in ballot and 10% requested an absentee ballot ahead of the municipal election.Registered Democrats requested 723,746 mail-in and absentee ballots compared to 215,286 Republicans and 87,195 requests from “other” registered voters. So about 3 of every 4Of the 570,000 ballots returned so far statewide, 417,829 - or about 3 of every 4 - were ballots from registered Democrats and 114,149 were from those registered as Republicans. https://coloradonewsline.com/2023/10/01/proposition-hh-proposition-ii/Colorado voters will decide on two statewide measures this election, both of which were referred to the ballot by the state Legislature.First, Proposition HHIf approved, Proposition HH would lower property tax rates over the next 10 years and allow the state to keep more money than it would otherwise be obligated to return to taxpayers. If Proposition HH passes, the residential assessment rate would be reduced to 6.7% from 6.765% until 2032. Proposition HH would also raise the amount of tax revenue the state can keep — set by the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights — by 1%. The new revenue allowed would be used to backfill property tax revenue that local governments would miss out on, for things like public education. $20MM would also be set aside for a rental assistance program.The proposition is backed by the Democratic lawmakers who voted to put it on the ballot and by Demoratic Gov. Jared Polis, as well as by other liberal groups, unions, AARP and the League of Women Voters. They say the proposal is a responsible solution to rising property taxes while still keeping schools funded. https://variety.com/2023/music/news/britney-spears-memoir-the-woman-in-me-sales-publisher-1235768414/It's BritneyBritney Spears‘ long-awaited memoir “The Woman in Me” — which details her fight for freedom and tumultuous relationships with the men in her life — has sold 1.1 million copies in its first week across print, pre-sales, e-books and audiobooks in the United States.“The Woman in Me” was released on Oct. 24 and has officially been out for just over a week. The memoir is 275 pages long and the audiobook is read by actress Michelle Williams. The book featured a wild assortment of revelations that touched on Spears' career, family, conservatorship and high profile relationships. Among them, Spears revealed that she and her ex-beau Justin Timberlake had gotten an abortion and she also claims Timberlake cheated on her with unnamed celebrities. Spears landed the publishing deal for a tell-all last February, just a few months after her conservatorship was terminated. Simon & Schuster acquired the rights to Spears' book last year after a bidding war that involved multiple publishers, though the financial terms of the transaction have not been revealed. That's it for me, from Denver I'm Sean Diller. Stories featured in today's show were originally reported in the Missouri Independent, Ohio Capital Journal, Pennsylvania Capital Star, Colorado Newsline, and Variety. Thanks for listening, see you next time. 

Missouri Justice Coalition Website @TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsRachel Parker @msraitchetp   (Post) https://heartlandpod.com/JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Music by Elliot RosenML Smith is a criminal punishment system-impacted advocate, abolitionist and activist who experienced incarceration during the COVID-19 pandemic, which made her intimately aware of the dire reality faced by our imprisoned populations, as well as the egregious actions and apathy of institution staff and administrators. Being a Black, disabled, system-impacted woman who has experienced generational poverty is the foundation of her ideological framework, rooted in advocating for those suffering & struggling within a society created and built to oppress, marginalize and dehumanize targeted, vulnerable communities. ML is dedicated to using her experiences, knowledge, determination and voice in the struggle for equity, justice and recognition of humanity.

Glenn Kage, Jr.  - https://www.laborfront.com/Follow Glenn as "Labor Front" on social media. @TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and Threadshttps://heartlandpod.com/JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/

@TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85  (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp   (Post) Sean Diller @SeanDillerCO   (Twitter and Post)https://heartlandpod.com/JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/T/F - Missouri's speaker of the house must resignInitial reporting by MO Independent Follow up - Plocher not resigning it seemshttps://missouriindependent.com/2023/10/26/missouri-house-speaker-dean-plocher-dismisses-calls-for-his-resignation/Post and Star jumped on https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article280997718.html?ac_cid=DM865574&ac_bid=59187624Yeah… no - No Labels gets on another ballot for 2024 presidential https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meetthepressblog/no-labels-gains-2024-ballot-access-12th-state-rcna121916How is this NOT just a way to assist Trump? https://www.thirdway.org/memo/the-no-labels-partys-radical-new-plan-to-force-a-contingent-electionNOT AN EXPERT OF THE WEEKMissouri state house member Ben Baker is NOT an expert on the US Constitution, not even closehttps://www.benbakerformo.com/Yeah… Yeah - Adam: Democracy Docket wins againhttps://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/federal-judge-orders-new-congressional-and-legislative-maps-in-georgia/Rachel: Biden Campaign Is TRUTHING!https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/16/23919770/trump-biden-truth-social-media-platform-gop-primaryBuy or Sell - Trump has a serious problem Trump claims he never had powell a lawyer, but whoops he didMark Meadows is poised to blow the whole trump world apart?https://abcnews.go.com/US/chief-staff-mark-meadows-granted-immunity-tells-special/story?id=104231281This bit is just…yeah. “But sources told ABC News that when speaking with Smith's investigators, Meadows conceded that he doesn't actually believe some of the statements in his book. According to the sources, Meadows told investigators that he doesn't agree with what's in his book when it says "our many referrals to the Department of Justice were not seriously investigated."I'm just gonna leave this here: https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/jenna-ellis-under-investigation-again-colorado/Trump family testimony is coming https://x.com/kylegriffin1/status/1718023559170134295?s=46&t=mukZUfs5M_R3E9tAHIu-GA Big One - House Got A Speaker, and He Seems Creepy AF, low key, no caphttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/25/who-is-mike-johnson-house-speaker-election-denier-climate-anti-abortion?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Otherhttps://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/10/house-speaker-republican-mike-johnson-january-6-mastermind-trump-election-2020.html

October 27, 2023 - UAW strike might be ending | Kansas GOP peddles lies about working poor | Ohioans may legalize cannabis on Issue 2 in November | Dark money floods into Denver school board elections | Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers announces $402MM in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to replace lead drinking water service lines | SCOTUS smacks down another racial gerrymander from a GOP state legislature in the South Support what we do by leaving a five star rating and a review wherever you listen and follow us on social media at the heartland pod. Also check out heartlandpod.com and click the patreon link to learn about becoming a podhead today.https://michiganadvance.com/2023/10/26/we-won-things-nobody-thought-possible-uaw-reaches-tentative-deal-with-ford/What started at three plants at midnight on Sept. 15, has become a national movement,” said Fain. “We won things nobody thought possible. Since the strike began, Ford put 50% more on the table than when we walked out. This agreement sets us on a new path to make things right at Ford, at the Big Three, and across the auto industry. Together, we are turning the tide for the working class in this country.”Ford confirmed the deal in a news statement Wednesday night. “We are pleased to have reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract with the UAW covering our U.S. operations,” the company said.“Ford is proud to assemble the most vehicles in America and employ the most hourly autoworkers. We are focused on restarting Kentucky Truck Plant, Michigan Assembly Plant and Chicago Assembly Plant, calling 20,000 Ford employees back to work and shipping our full lineup to our customers again,” the automaker said in a statement. “The agreement is subject to ratification by Ford's UAW-represented employees. Consistent with the ratification process, the UAW will share details with its membership.”While Ford did not detail the terms of the tentative agreement, the UAW released some of the terms:It provides more in base wage increases than Ford workers have received in the past 22 years.The agreement grants 25% in base wage increases through April 2028.It cumulatively raises the top wage by over 30% to more than $40 an hour.It raises the starting wage by 68%, to over $28 an hour.The lowest-paid workers at Ford will see a raise of more than 150% over the life of the agreement.Some workers will receive an immediate 85% increase immediately upon ratification.The agreement reinstates major benefits lost during the Great Recession, including Cost-of-Living Allowances (COLA) and a three-year wage progression, as well as killing wage tiers in the union.It improves retirement for current retirees, those workers with pensions, and those who have 401(k) plans. It also includes a historic right to strike over plant closures, a first for the union.During a Friday livestream, Fain had detailed the latest proposals at General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, highlighting the shortcomings of the latter's current offer. The union represents about 150,000 members. The latest picket site on Tuesday at GM's Arlington Assembly plant in Texas brought the total number of UAW members on strike at the Big Three automakers to more than 45,000. The UAW remains on strike against GM and Stellantis, but the Ford deal could become the blueprint to settle those contracts.The strike began on Sept. 15 with a walkout against three assembly plants in Michigan, Missouri and Ohio. It has since grown to include eight assembly plants and 38 parts distribution centers in 22 states. President Joe Biden in September made a historic visit to the picket line alongside Fain at the Willow Run Redistribution Center in Belleville. He said in a statement Wednesday night that he applauds the “UAW and Ford for coming together after a hard fought, good faith negotiation and reaching a historic tentative agreement tonight. “This tentative agreement provides a record raise to auto workers who have sacrificed so much to ensure our iconic Big Three companies can still lead the world in quality and innovation. Ultimately, the final word on this contract will be from the UAW members themselves in the days and weeks to come. I've always believed the middle class built America and unions built the middle class. That is especially the case for UAW workers who built an iconic American industry,” Biden said.https://kansasreflector.com/2023/10/26/legislative-leaders-spread-biased-tropes-about-disabled-kansans-in-crusade-against-medicaid/Recently, Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins and Senate President Ty Masterson were quoted as calling Gov. Laura Kelly's campaign to expand Medicaid a “welfare” tour for “able-bodied adults” who “choose not to work.”This deception is both a wildly inaccurate portrayal of uninsured Kansas who could benefit from Medicaid expansion and also directly harmful in its disability-related stereotypes. Though I should note that we disabled people do not need to work to deserve dignity, decent living situations and have our needs met (as well as a reasonable amount of our wants). We deserve legislators' respect.Hawkins and Masterson are playing into well-rehearsed tropes and biases. I will seek to spread some facts to these dishonest politicians, who are supposed to be representing all their constituents, about disability and employment.Before I get to that, however, I'd like to quickly point out that the Medicaid expansion Hawkins and Masterson are railing against likely would benefit both the Kansas economy and many hardworking Kansans, according to a Wichita Eagle report. Also, despite their claims that Medicaid expansion would be welfare for able-bodied people who do not want to work, according to WIBW, 74% of the non-elderly, uninsured, working-age Kansans these men represent, are, in fact, working.With that aside, let's look under the hood at that comment, which clearly also seems to be a dog whistle for several profoundly harmful stereotypes. These include the idea that flocks of able-bodied people fake disability and that disabled people don't want to work. Both stereotypes ignore the immense barriers and biases that disabled people face while looking for jobs, the numbers of disabled people who are working for substandard wages and the substantial barriers disabled people face to receiving the education necessary to even have a foot in the door for many jobs.​To dispel the idea that able-bodied people are pretending to be disabled to receive welfare benefits, numerous reliable sources, including the Social Security Administration itself, find that Social Security fraud is less than 1%.Let's also look at the number of disabled Kansans working for far below minimum wage in sheltered workshops with sub-minimum wage certificates, which some GOP Kansas legislators tried to create tax breaks for and increase.According to Russell, at least 420,000 disabled workers nationwide were working in these sheltered workshops, which paid 25-50% of the minimum wage. Goodwill was listed as one of the largest of these sheltered workspaces, paying disabled people as little as $2 an hour.Not only do these figures indicate clear employment and education-based barriers to work for disabled people, they also show a large number of disabled people would prefer to be working if they could find jobs. Even Forbes Magazine has written about why businesses should focus on hiring disabled people, the benefits in doing so, as well as the significant gifts that disabled people bring to the table, including higher retention rates and significant adaptability.In sum, though disabled people are often prevented from doing the work they would prefer to be doing, the statistics make clear that most, if not all, of those barriers come not from within disabled people but rather from the outside world.https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/10/26/passing-issue-2-doesnt-come-with-protections-for-employees-who-use-recreational-marijuana/Issue 2 would legalize and regulate the cultivation, manufacturing, testing and the sale of marijuana to Ohioans 21 and up. It would also create the Division of Cannabis Control within the Department of Commerce. Recent polling shows majority support for Issue 2 is expected to pass in the November election. A total of 54% of lawmakers surveyed in last week's Gongwer-Werth Legislative Opinion Poll think Issue 2 will pass. The poll showed 63% of Democrats and 52% of Republicans believe Issue 2 will pass. The poll had 35 lawmaker respondents. A July Suffolk University/USA Today poll shows 59% of Ohio voters support Ohioans 21 and older buying and possessing marijuana. It showed 77% of Democrats, 63% of independents and 40% of Republicans support the issue. The Suffolk University/USA Today poll surveyed 500 registered Ohio voters and their margin of error is +/- 4.4 percentage points.Ballot LanguageThe ballot's language makes it clear it does not require an employer to “accommodate an employee's use, possession, or distribution of adult use cannabis.”It also doesn't prohibit an employer from “refusing to hire, discharging, disciplining, or otherwise taking an adverse employment action against an individual … because of that individual's use, possession, or distribution of cannabis.” “An individual who is discharged from employment because of that individual's use of cannabis shall be considered to have been discharged for just cause,” according to the ballot language.https://coloradonewsline.com/2023/10/21/billionaire-dark-money-denver-school-board/Colorado NewslineThe Denver school board race is off and running, and several key groups have announced their endorsements. MIKE DEGUIREThe Denver school board race is off and running, and several key groups have announced their endorsements.The Denver Classroom Teachers Association, the local teacher organization, endorsed Charmaine Lindsay, Scott Baldermann, and Kwame Spearman. Denver Families Action endorsed Kimberlee Sia, John Youngquist, and Marlene Delarosa.Who is Denver Families Action? Chalkbeat says it is the “political arm of a relatively new organization,” Denver Families for Public Schools, formed with the backing of several local charter school networks, and they get funding from The City Fund, a pro-charter education reform national organization.What is City Fund? How much funding did they give to this new group called Denver Families for Public Schools? What Denver Public Schools “families” do they represent?According to Influence Watch, The City Fund is an “education organization that funds initiatives that promote the growth of charter schools and other school choice organizations. It also funds activist organizations that support increasing charter school access and school choice programs.” Chalkbeat reports that City Fund was started in 2018 by two billionaires, Reed Hastings and John Arnold, who donated over $200 million to “expand charter schools or charter-like alternatives in 40 cities across the country.” Reed Hastings has called for the elimination of democratically elected school boards, he serves on the national KIPP charter school board, and he built a training center in Bailey, Colorado, to house the Pahara Institute, an education advocacy and networking group that supports the expansion of charter schools. In December, 2020, he spelled out his vision. “Let's year by year expand the nonprofit school sector … for the low-performing school district public school — let's have a nonprofit public school take it over.” The City Fund set up its own political group, a PAC, called Campaign for Great Public Schools (also called City Fund Action), to give money to organizations that promote charter schools and lobby to privatize education. Since its formation, the Campaign for Great Public Schools has given millions to Education Reform Now, which is the political arm of Democrats for Education Reform. DFER is a “New York-based political action committee which focuses on encouraging the Democratic Party to support public education reform and charter schools.”Campaign for Great Public Schools also gave millions to the American Federation for Children, which is “a conservative 501(c)(4) dark money group that promotes the school privatization agenda via the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and other avenues. It is the 501(c)(4) arm of the 501(c)(3) non-profit group the Alliance for School Choice. The group was organized and is funded by the billionaire DeVos family.”The City Fund Action PAC also funds the National Alliance for Charter Schools, 50 CAN, and numerous other organizations that support the expansion of charter schools.Denver Families for Public Schools received $1.75 million in 2021 from the Campaign for Great Public Schools to promote their three selected candidates in the current Denver school board race. Denver Families for Public Schools functions as a 501(c)(4), which means it can donate unlimited amounts of money in political elections without disclosing its donors. It functions as an “astroturf” group by engaging in the practice of creating the illusion of widespread grassroots support for a candidate, policy, or cause when no such support necessarily exists. It set up a website, Facebook page, hired staff and recruited others to lobby for its cause. It posts videos of parents who say they don't like the current school board candidates if they are opposed to them. It participates in forums to promote its selected candidates.When Denver Families Action announced its school board endorsements in August, the leading fundraiser in the at-large seat at that time, Ulcca Hansen, withdrew from the race since she did not gain its endorsement. Hansen stated she could not win without the significant financial resources that come from “soft side spending.”This money is also referred to as outside spending or “dark money,” because the funders of the outside groups often remain secret. Hansen felt the dark money would outpace campaign spending by a 10 to 1 margin. The $1.75 million that Denver Families for Public Schools received from The City Fund will be a major factor in the DPS school board race.https://wisconsinexaminer.com/brief/evers-dnr-announce-402-million-in-spending-to-improve-drinking-water/Gov. Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources announced Monday that more than 100 municipalities across the state will receive $402 million in funding to improve local drinking water by removing lead service lines and addressing contaminants such as PFAS and nitrates. The funds come from the DNR's Safe Drinking Water Loan Program and a number of programs through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Across the state, there are 167,000 known lead service lines — which are the city-owned pipes that connect a home's plumbing to the water system. In his budget proposal earlier this year, Evers had requested $200 million to replace the lines. Through the funding, the city of Milwaukee, which has many of the state's remaining lead pipes, will receive more than $30 million to replace lead service lines.The city of Wausau is set to receive more than $17 million in funds to help pay for a PFAS-removal treatment system at the city's newly constructed water treatment facility. The city will also receive nearly $6 million to replace lead service lines. Many communities around the state are dealing with the harmful effects of PFAS in drinking water. The man-made compounds known as “forever chemicals”  have been found to cause cancer and don't break down easily in the environment. The compounds enter the environment through products such as firefighting foams and household goods such as nonstick pans. In rural parts of the state, communities are dealing with increased nitrates in their drinking water, which is often caused by runoff from agricultural operations. As part of the funding announced Monday, the village of Reedsville is set to receive $3 million for additional water treatment to address excess nitrates in its water.What caught your eye?Rachelhttps://www.democracydocket.com/cases/georgia-congressional-redistricting-challenge/Federal judge strikes down Georgia's congressional and legislative maps, ruling they violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by diluting the power of Black voters. New, fair districts must be drawn before the 2024 elections.

@TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsRachel Parker @msraitchetp   (Post)Substack had negative revenue - The VergeSubstack gets writers to invest, but doesn't share new financial infoIntro:Support what we do by leaving a five star rating and a review wherever you listen to the show and follow us on social media with AT the heartland pod and check out heartlandpod.com and click the patreon link to learn about becoming a podhead today. Last week: I beat up on the news business and the baseless nostalgia the old guard loves to bathe itself in as if we don't notice that journalists, and the newsrooms where they worked, were largely white, straight, and male.I also talked about how journalists I follow and trust are nearly in unison on one point: The ancillary income that newspapers and news outlets make from Google is going to go away due largely to advancements in AI.I watched an entire generation of journalists fail us in the early part of this century. There were two trains running in my view that led to this: an utter lack of innovation and hubris. If you tell yourself that your industry is so valuable that wayward consumers will always find their way back to you, you'll never be bothered to pay attention to what consumers are actually doing. The slow leak in the newspaper industry is already terrible, and a thriving democracy needs journalism.Outside of nonprofit newsrooms…what should they do? The two things that we have today that still pose as “saviors”: aggregation models and the newsletter business. Let's talk about the second one first. The writing is probably on the wall for Substack. In 2021, it lost $25M. There's a story from The Verge in the show notes from April that details how the Substack founders failed to raise another round of investment capital from VCs and instead, crowdfunded more money. I posted a pretty great article from Dan Primack in Axios from April about that. Both are worthy reads, because they basically tell you something we should all know: The independent news boom is probably in trouble. And we can all imagine why. How many of us can really afford to subscribe to numerous Substacks? It starts to add up, and most of us already have other premium content products that we pay for monthly. (name some)News outlets have, for a long time, had what I'll call an “aggregation”  mindset. Push stories where people are—search, social, YouTube—and the money will come.My idea: Build an overlay payment system that allows individuals to pay for individual stories that will rival the cost of an ad impression AND deliver immediate value to the publication.Describe Post and why, as much as I like it and use it, I'm worried it won't work. (See also: Apple News)BUT…the micropayment feature is magnificent. Let's expand on it. (Explain that, close it up).I don't have a Big Ask for this week. Just enjoy the rest of fall. CreditsTrust Me with Rachel Parker is a production of Mid Map Media LLC, producers Rachel Parker, Adam Sommer, and Sean Diller.

Tony Pecinovsky is a communist/activist from the St. Louis area.  He's written three books you can find here; https://www.intpubnyc.com/book-author/tony-pecinovsky/He is on FaceBook though seldom posts anything on it.  Info on Carrrie Smith: https://www.laborfront.com/blog/labor-front-honors-carrie-smith-for-black-history-month-2023Tony Pecinovsky is a prominent member of the Communist Party USA. He is currently[1]district staffperson for the Missouri/Kansas Communist party..Tony Pecinovsky is the national organizing director for Speak Progress. He writes regularly for the People's World and the St. Louis Labor Tribune, “one of the country's oldest and most respected union papers.” His articles have been published in Shelterforce, ZMagazine, Alternet and Political Affairs, among other publications.He is the fund-raising co-chair of St. Louis Jobs with Justice and a Missouri Progressive Vote Coalition board member. He also serves on the Missouri Immigrant and Refugee Advocates (MIRA) coalition steering committee. Additionally, as a member of the St. Louis United Media Guild he serves as the secretary-treasurer of the Greater St. Louis CWA (Communications Workers of America) City Council and as a delegate to the Greater St. Louis Central Labor Council. He is also the president of the St. Louis Workers' Education Society.[2]

@TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85  (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp   (Post) Sean Diller @SeanDillerCO   (Twitter and Post)https://heartlandpod.com/JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/True or FalseThe Missouri Senate race matters for 2024https://emersoncollegepolling.com/missouri-2024-poll-sen-hawley-leads-democratic-challengers-kunce-and-bell-by-double-digits/From Cook Political Report: https://www.cookpolitical.com/senate/race/306116Sean, broader senate race concerns for Dems?Michigan is openMontana has Tester but could be toughOhio, WV, Ariz all seem like possible DEM lossesYeah…NoMissouri AG jumps in on case and 2 months later campaign PAC gets massive $50k donation https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/government-politics/missouri-ag-s-campaign-gets-50k-check-after-he-sides-with-doe-run-in-lead/article_9cb4922c-6e00-11ee-92e7-2b520cc99210.htmlWould refuse to defend state law if elected https://missouriindependent.com/2023/10/20/ashcroft-says-initiatives-seek-to-nullify-missouri-laws-protecting-the-right-to-life/Yeah…yeah!Movement in healthcare workers strike https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/kaiser-permanente-workers-union-reach-tentative-agreement-2023-10-13/TrumpdateKenneth Cheesbro is going to trial in Georgia… https://abcnews.go.com/US/kenneth-chesebro-rejected-plea-offer-ahead-georgia-election/story?id=104121621Psych!!!!! He took a plea deal a couple days laterKenneth Chesebro pleads guilty in Georgia case tied to Trump  - https://www.npr.org/2023/10/20/1207417000/kenneth-chesebro-guilty-plea-georgia?origin=NOTIFYLawyer says he NEVER believed any of it! Imagine committing a crime to help a crook keep the whitehouse and you're like “None of this is right, but here I am, just doin' my job”https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4268727-chesebro-attorney-client-never-believed-2020-election-fraud/Good thread on thishttps://x.com/rgoodlaw/status/1715403031498400065?s=46&t=mukZUfs5M_R3E9tAHIu-GAThe Kraken  - Sidney Powell - takes a plea deal and fails to ever be fully unleashed Trump can't keep his yap shut https://t.co/szxVUOlZFcSpecial Counsel Is Not Playing Gameshttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/20/donald-trump-special-counsel-election-charges-responseMissouri connect - Will Scharf who is running for the GOP AG nomination has joined Trump's legal team according to his own announcement, so there's thatBig OneRed States threw a fit about voting to appease their self tanned master and now it's blowing up https://www.npr.org/2023/10/20/1207142433/eric-investigation-follow-up-voter-data-election-integritySeems impossible not to see a correlation here: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/21/jim-jordan-house-speaker-republicans-dysfunction?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

@TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85  (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp   (Post) Sean Diller @SeanDillerCO   (Twitter and Post)https://heartlandpod.com/JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/Welcome to this week's Friday News Flyover!https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/10/19/what-is-ohio-issue-1-we-explain-the-proposed-abortion-rights-amendment/If Issue 1 fails“These justices are poised to reinstate and reimpose a six-week abortion ban,” attorney for the ACLU Jessie Hill said.The Supreme Court heard arguments in late September that could restore the controversial six-week abortion. This ban, which has no exceptions for rape or incest, would prohibit virtually all abortions.Republican lawmakers passed the six-week abortion ban in 2019, which had no rape or incest exceptions. This law was blocked by a federal judge a few months later.When Roe fell in 2022, Ohio reinstated the six-week ban. Pro-abortion rights groups sued, and months later, a state judge indefinitely blocked the law from going into place, citing infringement of privacy.https://capitolnewsillinois.com/NEWS/pritzker-launches-self-funded-nationwide-abortion-rights-advocacy-organizationhttps://capitolnewsillinois.com/NEWS/advocates-push-for-guns-to-be-taken-from-domestic-abusers-when-order-of-protection-servedhttps://kansasreflector.com/2023/10/17/typical-lip-service-as-medicaid-waitlists-grow-kansas-parents-see-no-path-forward/https://www.azmirror.com/2023/10/18/jonathen-nez-launches-bid-to-flip-azs-largest-congressional-district/What caught your eye?AdamThursday's ep. Of Dirt Road Democrat - Jess Piper was joined by Rev. Karla who is an interfaith reverend, they had a really open and interesting discussion about the concept of Deconstruction Rachelhttps://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/arizona-dems-back-ruben-gallego-donation-ahead-sinema-senate-race-rcna121144

https://www.propublica.org/article/local-newspaper-legacy-springfield-massachusetts?utm_medium=social&utm_source=postnews&utm_campaign=postnews

Glenn Kage, Jr.  - https://www.laborfront.com/Follow Glenn as "Labor Front" on social media. Amy Woodard is a steward for Teamsters Local 916.  I have posted a link to their petition in the hopes of helping them collect signatures.Glennhttps://www.facebook.com/TeamstersLU916/posts/pfbid02S4iRButhHfEz9RrvVCz8tTMTNFR2Yd4ve7b3SV92kwjya5cwi1P7txXLm2EbTtZZl

@TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85  (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp   (Post) Sean Diller @SeanDillerCO   (Twitter and Post)https://heartlandpod.com/JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/Clown Car CruisingThe Speaker selection in the house Sean Called it babyhttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/12/jim-jordan-ohio-cnn-nancy-mace-democrats-scalise-speaker?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Otherhttps://thehill.com/homenews/house/4257400-crenshaw-says-its-going-to-be-really-really-difficult-for-jordan-to-get-the-votes-to-be-speaker/Ann Wagner - Missouri Rep gives Jim Jordan a “talk to the hand”Politico: https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/13/republicans-speaker-mccarthy-jim-jordan-00121370Great background from Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/13/no-house-speaker-what-it-means-republicans-dividedhttps://x.com/karmarvar/status/1712922989904154786?s=46&t=mukZUfs5M_R3E9tAHIu-GAYeah noHawley using Israel for political points https://newrepublic.com/post/176106/josh-hawley-help-israel-divert-funds-ukraineAG Bailey of MO - talking point of the weekend Not an Expert of the week - new dropElon MuskTwitter hit an iceberg with The proliferation of misinformation around Israelhttps://www.wired.com/story/x-israel-hamas-war-disinformation/From Platformer this week: “[Musk] blew up the old verification system, replacing a hand-picked group of journalists whose identities were confirmed by the company with a hodgepodge of culture warriors paying $8 a month to float to the top of replies. He began paying the culture warriors based on the views they got. He blocked and threatened reporters. He sued activists. He began charging eye-watering rates to access the platform's API, driving away academic researchers. He stripped headlines off the previews of articles. He promoted the accounts of conspiracy theories and right-wing extremists.This is a system designed to cause chaos in the information environment, and it is working by design.”Big One: Biden's response to attacks Big speech, strong language speech: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/10/10/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-terrorist-attacks-in-israel-2/ Sent carrier group to the areaA little Teddy - walk softly and carry a big stick the size of the U.S. NavyFrom Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-push-israel-ukraine-aid-package-over-2-billion-this-week-2023-10-15From that article, and H/T to Adam for (maybe?) being right about this: “How any bill moves through Congress without a House speaker is unclear. House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries suggested on Sunday that Democrats could work with Republicans to nominate a speaker."There are informal conversations that have been underway," about a bipartisan solution to the crisis, Jeffries told NBC's Meet the Press. "When we get back to Washington tomorrow, it's important to begin to formalize those discussions."”

More from your host: https://www.laborfront.com/Matt Lebeis is a stationary operating engineer and works at a water filtration plant out of the Operating Engineers Local 49 in Minnesota. About the only link I can find is this one for his local. I'm not sure if I want this to be a Meet the Member or a regular interview.  He was just okay https://local49.org/

This week on the Friday Flyover, Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan battle for Speaker of the U.S. House | UAW President Shawn Fain announces 8,700 Ford Kentucky Truck plant workers are joining the strike | Nurses are striking around the nation | Wisconsin Supreme Court judge Janet Protasiewicz stands her ground against GOP goofballshttps://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/republicans-fail-to-coalesce-around-speaker-choice-leaving-house-in-limbo/ar-AA1i49oxhttps://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/11/uaw-launches-strike-against-fords-kentucky-truck-plant-signaling-major-escalation-in-labor-fight.htmlOct. 11 – Today, Ford came to the table with the same offer they submitted to us two weeks ago. It was an unacceptable move that triggered a strong and immediate response.UAW President Shawn Fain and Vice President Chuck Browning called on our 8,700 members at Ford's extremely profitable Kentucky Truck Plant to Stand Up and strike. Our Local 862 members answered the call and walked out today at 6:30 p.m.Our Stand Up strategy has won important victories at the table, but we must go further. We will keep increasing the pressure on Ford and all of the Big Three until we've won our fair share of the record profits we've made at Kentucky Truck and every Big Three plant.Tune in to Facebook Live this Friday, Oct. 13 at 10 a.m. for more announcements on the status of bargaining at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.General Motors last week agreed to include workers at its electric vehicle battery plant in the company's national contract with the union, which Fain called a “transformative win.”Fain said the union expects Chrysler parent Stellantis and Ford to follow suit, including battery plant workers in eventual contract agreements.The UAW has been gradually increasing the strikes since the work stoppages began after the sides failed to reach tentative agreements by Sept 14.The additional workers brings UAW's total to about 34,000 U.S. workers, or roughly 23% of UAW members covered by the expired contracts with the Detroit automakers, who are currently on strike.Fain will give bargaining updates and potentially announce further strikes at 10 a.m. Friday online, the union said Wednesday night.https://capitolnewsillinois.com/NEWS/nurses-unions-push-for-mandatory-staff-to-patient-ratiosSafe Patients Limit Act would cap the number of patients per registered nurseBy PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.comSPRINGFIELD – Unions representing nurses in Illinois are pushing for legislation that would impose mandatory staff-to-patient ratios in hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities.But lobby groups representing hospitals and nursing homes say they are steadfastly opposed to the legislation, arguing that a nationwide nursing shortage makes it impossible to comply with such a mandate.The proposed Safe Patient Limits Act, by Sen. Celina Villanueva and Rep. Theresa Mah, both Chicago Democrats, was introduced in February and was the subject of a joint hearing last week in Chicago by two House committees. It's an issue that has been discussed in the General Assembly since 2019 but has thus far failed to gain the necessary traction for passage. The latest hearing came just three weeks before lawmakers return to the Capitol for their fall veto session, which begins Oct. 24.“Short staffing isn't a mere inconvenience. It's a dire issue,” said Shaba Andrich, vice president of nursing homes for the SEIU Healthcare employee union. “It's predominantly a Black and brown issue. In historically marginalized communities of Chicago, these issues are magnified. These communities that already face systemic underinvestment are further deprived of adequate nursing care due to chronic short staffing.”The bill calls for setting a maximum number of patients that could be assigned to a registered nurse in specified situations. For example, in units with critical care or intensive care patients, the maximum number of patients per nurse would be just one. In units with pediatric patients, the bill would allow three patients per nurse, and in units with psychiatric patients, the bill would allow four patients per nurse.It also provides some legal protection for nurses, stating that they are to provide their services exclusively in the interest of patients, “unencumbered by the commercial or revenue-generating priorities” of a facility that employs registered professional nurses.Andrich, testifying before the committee last week, disputed the notion that there is a nursing shortage in Illinois. He said there is only “a shortage of caregivers who are refusing to be overworked and undervalued and underpaid,” and that the result of understaffing has direct consequences for patients.“Such understaffing isn't merely an operational concern. It translates into real world consequences,” he said. “Seniors enduring falls, malnutrition, missed medication, avoidable hospitalization, and, tragically, avoidable deaths.”Some of those who testified in favor of the bill accused hospitals and nursing homes of being more concerned about labor costs and profit margins than the best interests of patients.“We need this legislation because hospitals are incentivized to reduce labor costs. This means less staff,” said Jeanine Johnson, a critical care nurse at Ascension St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet. “Hospital executives see budgets and labor costs. Nurses see patients and their lives.”A.J. Wilhelmi, president & CEO of the Illinois Health and Hospital Association, a hospital trade group, said it's true that health care providers face significant financial pressures, largely because Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates have not kept pace with the rising cost of health care. But he said contrary to what the unions claimed, there is a significant and growing nursing shortage in Illinois, and the proposed Safe Patient Limits Act would put even more of a financial burden on providers.During his testimony, Wilhelmi cited a state survey into the registered nurse workforce that was conducted by the Illinois Nursing Workforce Center – which is a state agency that works to promote the nursing profession. Of the respondents to that survey, 27 percent indicated an intent to retire within the next five years. The IHA interpreted that and other data in the survey to suggest the state could see a shortage of 14,400 registered nurses by 2025.“I'm deeply concerned that many hospitals in the state, particularly safety net hospitals, critical access hospitals, will be unable to absorb the huge cost that ratios would impose,” he said. “And given the enormous financial pressures that Illinois hospitals already face, if this bill becomes law, they're going to have to make some tough decisions like cutting back services, closing hundreds of beds, and eliminating jobs. And frankly, some of our hospitals might be forced to close.”Andy Allison, deputy director of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the agency that administers the state's Medicaid program, suggested that the key to solving the staffing issues in hospitals and nursing homes is to raise wages to make the jobs more attractive.He noted that last year, lawmakers passed a significant overhaul of the way the state reimburses nursing homes through Medicaid, adding roughly $700 million in the form of incentives to increase wages and hire more staff.Before those reforms were adopted, he said, Illinois was home to 46 of the 100 worst-staffed nursing homes in the country. As of March 31, he said, that number had dropped to 14.“We hope that it becomes zero. We have a ways to go,” he said. “But in the last five quarters – that is, through March 31 of this year – in that five-quarter period, total nurse staffing hours statewide are up 15 percent.”Denise Stiger, an organizer for Teamsters Local 743, which represents health care workers in many Chicago-area facilities, said that money has not solved the problem, and that in some nursing homes, one CNA still could have as many as 20 patients to tend to during their shift.“We have to deal with the owners because they're slum lords. That's what they are,” she said. “And I understand that they get cited, and it's public. But these owners are not looking at that. These owners are looking at these patients as money.”Health care workers at hundreds of Kaiser Permanente hospitals and medical facilities across the U.S. walked off the job on Wednesday morning, in an effort to ramp up pressure on their employer to fix a staffing shortage that has intensified since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.Over 75,000 workers — including nurses, emergency department technicians, pharmacists and hundreds of others — went on strike in California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Virginia and Washington, D.C.It is the biggest health care strike in U.S. history, according to the unions.Kaiser, headquartered in Oakland, California, is one of the largest nonprofit health care providers in the United States, serving nearly 13 million patients. Most Kaiser workers who have walked off the job will be on strike for three days, until Saturday morning — except those in Virginia and Washington D.C., who will be on strike for 24 hours.Roughly 1,500 essential workers at four hospitals in Los Angeles County kicked off a five-day strike Monday morning to protest what they claim are dangerous working conditions and unfair labor practices by hospital management.Employees at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood walked off the job and picketed outside while nonunion nurses and staff were brought in to keep the hospital open, according to union organizers.Nurses and other staff at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood, Garden Grove Hospital and Medical Center, and Encino Hospital Medical Center are also participating in the strike through Friday.ST. LOUIS — Nurses at SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital walked off their jobs for a 24-hour strike on Monday, a measure they said was necessary after the hospital failed to address their concerns about short staffing.Registered nurses union stages 24-hour strike at SSM Health St. Louis University HospitalMaddi O'Leary, a registered nurse who works in the bone marrow transplant unit, joins other SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital nurses represented by the National Nurses United union in staging a 24-hour strike Monday Sept. 25, 2023, outside the hospital.Christine Tannous, Post-Dispatch“We don't want to be out here,” said Maddi O'Leary, a nurse in the bone marrow transplant unit, who has worked at the hospital for eight years. “We want to be inside taking care of our patients. But we have not been given the resources to do so safely.”In a statement, SSM said the health system was “deeply disappointed” in the union's decision to organize a strike. The hospital said workers from nurse staffing agencies would help fill in where needed.Dozens rallied outside the hospital along South Grand Boulevard Monday, carrying signs and chanting. Nurses described feeling frustrated when they couldn't provide patients the quality of care they wanted to give because their units are understaffed.And when patients have to wait longer for care, health care workers receive backlash from them and their family members, they said. Several emergency department nurses said that they've noticed an increase in patients after South City Hospital, about 4 miles south, closed in early August following financial troubles.O'Leary said that while nursing shifts in her unit ideally are staffed by four nurses, lately there have been shifts with only two. That means she can't take a break because she can't leave the unit staffed by only one nurse.“Enough was enough,” she said.The strike was scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. Monday and end at 6:59 a.m. Tuesday. The nurses gave the hospital 10 days' notice.The union, National Nurses United, has represented nurses at the hospital since 2012. Though the nurses have held several protests to pressure SSM to increase staffing levels there, they had never before gone on strike.The nurses' labor agreement expired June 15. They have been in negotiations for a new contract since May and claim there has been little movement in bargaining. With the exception of the VA St. Louis Healthcare System, SLU Hospital is the only hospital in the region where nurses are unionized.SSM accused the California-based nurses union of holding strikes that are “intended to create tension and division within hospitals,” and said the moves are counterproductive to SSM's efforts to recruit and hire nurses.https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2023/10/11/republicans-ease-off-impeachment-threat-after-supreme-court-accepted-redistricting-case/After months of threatening that they would consider impeaching liberal Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz if she weighed in on a lawsuit over the state's legislative maps, Wisconsin Republican lawmakers have pulled back from the idea. Republicans began raising impeachment before Protasiewicz was even elected in April, with then-Rep. Dan Knodl (R-Germantown) saying during his special election campaign for an open Senate seat that he would consider impeaching her. In August, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said he would consider impeaching Protasiewicz if she weighed in on the redistricting lawsuit — stating in a radio interview that he believed she had “pre-judged” the case and that could constitute a violation of her oath of office. Late last week, Protasiewicz ruled against Republican motions requesting that she recuse herself, writing in an opinion that the standard for recusal Republicans were arguing for would be “unworkable.” On the same day, Protasiewicz joined the Court's three other liberals in voting to accept one of two lawsuits filed against the maps. As Republicans floated the impeachment possibility, and state Democrats launched a campaign to raise public opinion against it, Vos said he convened a panel of three former Supreme Court justices to weigh in on the idea. One of those former justices, conservative David Prosser, wrote in an email to Vos on Friday before the court's decision was released that nothing Protasiewicz had done rose to the level of corrupt conduct in office, which along with criminal acts is the standard for impeachment in the state Constitution. “In my view, ‘corrupt conduct' is not a term that is open to a mere political grievance,” Prosser wrote. “If that were the case, legislative bodies could be trading questionable impeachments with considerable frequency.”“To sum up my views, there should be no effort to impeach Justice Protasiewicz on anything we know now,” he continued. “Impeachment is so serious, severe, and rare that it should not be considered unless the subject has committed a crime, or the subject has committed indisputable ‘corrupt conduct' while ‘in office.'”After the Court's decision was released last week, Vos said in a statement that he believes the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately weigh in on the issue. “Justice Protasiewicz should have recused herself. We think the United States Supreme Court precedent compels her recusal, and the United States Supreme Court will have the last word here,” Vos said.Wisconsin's impeachment process requires a simple majority vote of the Assembly to impeach and a two-thirds vote of the Senate to convict and remove an official. In addition to Vos' retreat from the threat, multiple Senate Republicans have stated they don't support impeachment, meaning there wouldn't be enough votes in the Senate to remove Protasiewicz. In an audio recording obtained by the Examiner, a staff member for Sen. Rachel Cabral-Guevara (R-Appleton) told a member of the public that “she does not support impeachment.” Sen. Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville) also told CBS58 he doesn't support impeachment. Prior to the Court's acceptance of the case, concerns had been raised that under Wisconsin's impeachment statutes, a judge is unable to hear any cases while the Senate is considering conviction — meaning that if the Assembly voted to impeach, the Senate could hold off on a vote in order to delay the case. With the lack of supermajority support for impeachment in the Senate, state Democrats have called for Vos to drop the threats. “While it's long been clear the law wasn't on the Republicans' side, they now lack the votes to pursue conviction in the Senate — underscoring how any impeachment in the Assembly would represent an unprecedented abuse of the Wisconsin Constitution,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Joe Oslund said in a statement. “Broken clocks are right twice a day, and now that David Prosser and Duey Stroebel have somehow emerged as voices of reason here, Robin Vos should have no excuse for not knowing what time it is: time to drop his unconstitutional impeachment threats.”What caught your eye:Wisconsin Examiner, Capitol News Illinois, STL Post Dispatch, LA Times, Washington Post, CNBC, NPR

Trust Me With Rachel Parker Wednesday, October 11Rachel chats with Pat Garofalo of the American Economic Liberties Project about the recent FTC suit against Amazon for its monopoly power abuse within its online marketplace About Pat Garofalo:https://www.economicliberties.us/pat-garofalo/About American Economic Liberties Projecthttps://www.economicliberties.us/about/#You Paid to Build Amazon's Monopoly Power - by Pat Garofalo @TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsRachel Parker @msraitchetp   (Post) Sean Diller @SeanDillerCO   (Twitter and Post)https://heartlandpod.com/JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”

@TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsJoin Clara's Crusade Fundraising TeamCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85  (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp   (Post) Sean Diller @SeanDillerCO   (Twitter and Post)https://heartlandpod.com/JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/Talkin' Politics | St. Louis hosts DNC and Has Controversy Locally Prior; Trump Gets Gagged; Matt Gaetz Caught The Car, So Now What?; Biden's Big Switch On Immigration and 2024 Impacts 

@TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsSean Diller @SeanDillerCO   (Twitter and Post)https://heartlandpod.com/JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/This week on the Friday Flyover: MO GOP candidates cashing big checks, Kansas Gov Laura Kelly announces huge budget surplus, Biden Admin announces $9 B more in student loan forgiveness, Gov. Abbott's got a fever - and the only prescription, is school vouchers, and Bidden-Harris campaign ads hit battleground states. Alright, let's get into it.http://missouriindependent.com/briefs/st-louis-mega-donor-drops-425k-into-missouri-campaigns-in-last-week/St. Louis mega-donor drops $425K into Missouri campaigns - in one weekBY: JASON HANCOCK - OCTOBER 3, 2023 10:00 AMRex Sinquefield, a retired investor from St. Louis and Missouri's most prolific political donor, cut $425,000 worth of checks to PACs supporting eight different candidates in the last week — with the largest going to bolster Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe's bid for governor. His $250,000 3rd quarter contribution to Kehoe brings Sinquefield's total to $750,000. That's right - Mike Kehoe has taken $750,000 from Rex Sinquefeld.Sinquefield also donated $25,000 each to two GOP candidates for state treasurer — state Sen. Andrew Koenig and state Rep. Cody Smith. He gave $25,000 to Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden, who is rumored to be eyeing a run for secretary of state, and to Sen. Denny Hoskins, who is already in that GOP primary. He also donated $25,000 to two state representatives running for the state Senate: Phil Christofanelli and Chris Dinkins, and to a state senator who is term-limited, Tony Luetkemeyer. Sinquefield has given more than $42 million in campaign contributions in Missouri — mostly to Republicans, though not exclusively. His main policy priorities are defunding the state's public education system and eliminating income taxes.In neighboring Kansas, he helped bankroll a group called Kansans for No Income Tax that promoted, in 2012, one of the largest state tax cuts in history with the support of Republican Gov. Sam Brownback. Sinquefield called the cuts “unbelievably brilliant” and predicted that “there's going to be a cloud of dust … as the businesses move from Missouri to Kansas.”By 2017, National Public Radio reported state lawmakers were seeking to close a $900 million budget gap,[2][Note 2] following nine previous budget cuts.[43] Earlier efforts to close budget gaps had left Kansas "well below national averages" in a wide range of public services from K-12 education to housing to police and fire protection.[4][17]Kansas' sharply reduced revenues following the income-tax repeal led rating agency Moody's to cut the state's bond rating in April from its second-highest bond rating to its third highest. Creative Commons LicenseREPUBLISHOur stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.https://kansasreflector.com/2023/10/03/kansas-on-track-for-2-6-billion-state-revenue-surplus-1-6-billion-stash-in-rainy-day-fund/Kansas on track for $2.6 billion state revenue surplus, $1.6 billion stash in rainy day fundMountain of cash guarantees political fight over tax, education, health spendingBY: TIM CARPENTER - OCTOBER 3, 2023 1:16 PMDemocratic governor Laura Kelly said, “Because of my administration's work to put our state on solid financial footing, we have been able to grow our economy and make historic investments in schools, roads and law enforcement. Now, it's time to give money back to Kansans through responsible tax cuts.”She urged the Republican-led Legislature to reduce property taxes, grocery sales taxes and drive down taxes on retirees. In addition, Kelly is recommending additional spending on K-12 special education and to expand eligibility for Medicaid to working-poor families. Adam Proffitt, the state budget director, said the Kansas unemployment rate contracted from double digits during the pandemic to 2.7% in August of this year.He also said Kansas has two job openings for every available person in the workforce. Thank you, Governor Kelly. You are my ultra dark horse candidate for Democratic nominee for U.S. President in 2024. Creative Commons LicenseRepublished under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. White House provides another $9 billion in student debt relief as pandemic pause endsBY: ARIANA FIGUEROA - OCTOBER 4, 2023 6:03 PM WASHINGTON — As federal student loan repayments restart, the Biden administration Wednesday announced an additional $9 billion in student loan forgiveness for 125,000 borrowers.“For years, millions of eligible borrowers were unable to access the student debt relief they qualified for, but that's all changed thanks to President Biden and this Administration's relentless efforts to fix the broken student loan system,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement.The announcement comes days after federal student loan repayments restarted following a nearly three-year pause due to the pandemic. Borrowers with federal student loans have the option of an on-ramp program, where they can delay making payments for 12 months, but interest will still accrue.The $9 billion in new relief includes $5.2 billion in forgiveness for 53,000 borrowers in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program; $2.8 billion in forgiveness for 51,000 borrowers from a one-time fix to income-driven repayment plans; and $1.2 billion in forgiveness for 22,000 borrowers with permanent disabilities.The PSLF program forgives remaining student loan debt after qualifying public sector and non-profit employees have made 10 years' worth of monthly payments. Since October 2021, the Biden administration has forgiven more than 715,000 borrowers with PSLF loans, totaling $50.8 billion.With Wednesday's announcement, more than 854,870 federal student loan borrowers have had their student loan debt forgiven through the IDR adjustment, totaling nearly $42 billion in relief, the administration said.The Department of Education also implemented a new income driven repayment program known as Saving on A Valuable Education, or SAVE, and many borrowers have been automatically funneled into the program. It's a plan that, for some borrowers, could result in no monthly payments.So far, the Biden administration has approved up to $127 billion in student debt cancellation for about 3.6 million borrowers.https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/29/greg-abbott-texas-leglislature-school-vouchers/Gov. Greg Abbot wants school vouchers and he wants them right now!BY BRIAN LOPEZ AND WILLIAM MELHADOSEPT. 29, 2023[He] has notified the Texas Legislature that a third special session will begin on Oct. 9.A Sept. 26 letter signed by Abbott and addressed to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan, did not indicate the focus of this special session. But the governor has said repeatedly the next special session would focus on public education, including the issue of school vouchers that would allow parents to use taxpayer dollars to pay for their children's private schooling. Lawmakers are to return to Austin on Oct. 9 at 1 p.m. This year's regular legislative session ended in a stalemate between the House and Senate over education savings accounts, a voucher program that would allow parents access to a state-managed account to pay for private school tuition.The Senate tried different ways to pass an education savings account program — even tacking it on to the only school finance bill the House advanced during the session — but Democrats and rural Republicans blocked it from moving forward.Abbott recently said that if lawmakers fail to pass a school choice proposal, he won't hesitate to bring lawmakers back. And he promised political consequences for those who get in his way.Abbott said “If we do not win in that first special session, we will have another special special session and we'll come back again. And then if we don't win that time, I think it's time to send this to the voters themselves.”Biden touts blue-collar roots in latest AZ adBY: JIM SMALL - OCTOBER 3, 2023 5:00 AMThe Biden campaign today is launching a new TV ad in Arizona and other battleground states that spotlights how the president's agenda is lowering costs for America's middle class.The ad, titled “Never Left,” is part of a 16-week, $25 million campaign that launched last month. The ad focuses on Joe Biden's roots in Scranton, a blue-collar city in northeastern Pennsylvania, and his pursuit of policies that benefit low- and middle-income Americans.The narrator says of Biden, “He knows what life is like for working people and knows middle-class life is too expensive right now,”The ad highlights Biden administration policies capping insulin costs at $35 for some seniors, allowing Medicare to negotiate certain drug prices and investments in the American clean energy sector, which the campaign said would lower power costs for families.The Biden campaign said the ad will run on broadcast TV and cable channels, and will target programming that is widely watched by general election voters, including “Dancing with the Stars,” “Bachelor in Paradise” and NFL games.Julie Chavez Rodriguez, the campaign manager for Biden-Harris 2024 said “This ad serves as an early reminder of the choice Americans will face next year: between MAGA Republicans whose agenda would give tax handouts to the ultra-rich at the expense of working people, or Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' agenda for the middle class.”We'll see what happens!Welp that's it for me. Stories for today's show originally published by States Newsroom outlets the Missouri Independent, Kansas Reflector, Texas Tribune, Arizona Mirror. Additional Rex Sinquefeld information from National Public Radio.